Jets Passing To Close Brings Probe By Faa

April 21, 1993

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident last week near O'Hare International Airport in which two American Airlines jets passed too closely to one another, officials said Tuesday.

A Boeing 767 headed for Germany and a Fokker twin-engine jet bound for Cincinnati passed within about 1/2 mile horizontally and 100 feet vertically of one another on April 14 in airspace where the separation standard is three miles horizontally or 1,000 feet vertically.

O'Hare controllers followed correct procedures in handling the jets, according to a preliminary inquiry that has indicated "pilot deviation" as the cause, said Donald Zochert, a FAA spokesman.

Aviation sources said controller instructions that would have averted the incident may not have been received by one of the pilots because of a communications glitch. A stuck microphone on a plane in the area is believed to have blocked the transmission, they said.

"There never was any danger," said Mary Frances Fagan, an American spokeswoman.